Repair gate to sheep paddock,
after two sheep tried to barge their way through it when it was shut,
and broke the hinge.
No Gun Club in Plaisance today for Lester,
because I don't do the welding and he does
and the gate is more urgent than practising firing bullets on a firing range.
But no wood cutting today as chainsaw is not working.
Cook up large leg of lamb, then roast, then eat.
Have sleep afterwards to recover from the effort.
Might think about investigating the bucket of plums waiting to be done.
They have been in the fridge for about four days now.
Well we have been recovering from our trips into Tarbes to get our French driving licenses done.
Dipping our toes in the fierceness of city life for a few hours took the energy out of us.
It would seem that we have become de-sensitized from that world.
But it made us appreciate the quietness of life on the smallholding.
I may, or may not, tackle the tomatoes in the veg patch,
now growing rampantly and fighting against being trained to grow tidily up a pole,
preferring instead to go their own way,
of growing along the ground, putting down roots along the stem,
and enjoying not being hoisted up in the air,
this being obvious by the amount of leaf they are putting out.
Apart from that, it is just the usual tasks to do...
part of the timeless routine of country life,
which is very satisfying to the soul.
Update:
The gate got repaired, but we then got diverted on to working on the Chicken Project.
We hadn't been out on that part of the smallholding for a couple of weeks,
and the weeds and brambles were already growing again,
so it was out with the scythes and cut them down,
and then Lester thought it would be a good idea to have a bonfire,
which we are not supposed to do here at the moment,
but we did anyway.
It was only a knee high fire, with occasional blasts of tall flames which lasted only for a second or two, with watering can full of water if things got silly.
It was good to start on that project again.
Nothing else was done,
well it was Sunday, so we did have a long afternoon nap.
We are still catching up with ourselves after the first eight hectic years of living in France.
For today, Monday, I shall try to tackle the things which did not get done yesterday,
although I fear that the bucket of plums will be too far gone,
not to worry, nothing is wasted, and they will be given to the pigs to enjoy.
Bye for now,
Vx
The gate got repaired, but we then got diverted on to working on the Chicken Project.
We hadn't been out on that part of the smallholding for a couple of weeks,
and the weeds and brambles were already growing again,
so it was out with the scythes and cut them down,
and then Lester thought it would be a good idea to have a bonfire,
which we are not supposed to do here at the moment,
but we did anyway.
It was only a knee high fire, with occasional blasts of tall flames which lasted only for a second or two, with watering can full of water if things got silly.
It was good to start on that project again.
Nothing else was done,
well it was Sunday, so we did have a long afternoon nap.
We are still catching up with ourselves after the first eight hectic years of living in France.
For today, Monday, I shall try to tackle the things which did not get done yesterday,
although I fear that the bucket of plums will be too far gone,
not to worry, nothing is wasted, and they will be given to the pigs to enjoy.
Bye for now,
Vx
14 comments:
I hope your plums are in good shape still. They do pretty well in the fridge for a bit.
The one advantage I think owning property in America has over Europe is that in at least most of the states the government can't really tell you what to do ..... Yet.
If I wanna burn,I burn and nothing they can really do about it without a good legal fight anyway.
Oh and the first amendment thing :)
And the second too :)
Naughty sheep! Anyway, "all's well that ends well" (the gate got fixed).
A small to medium bonfire could sometimes solve problems, and the danger is not great as you're close to the river and so plenty of water available.
A long afternoon lap is a blessing. It renews energy and refreshens the soul.
Sounds like a very busy and productive day on your smallholding Vera.
LISA, those plums were in the fridge for six days so I didn't think they would be any good, but I got them out today and they are in a lovely state of just nearly ripe, so you are right.....plums will keep in the fridge alright for a few days.
PIONEER PREPPY, it's more the local councils which set the 'rules' about bonfires, and for this time of year, when the fields are very dry and the corn is starting to ripen in the fields, a huge bonfire might cause quite a lot of mischief. But we do get left alone, and our bonfire was discrete so no one bothered us. There are a lot of rules and official paperwork here in France, but there is a sense of freedom underneath the bureaucracy and most people do as they want. The UK is much tighter with its countryside laws.
DUTA, the sheep are being noisy and naughty at the moment, and we need to start getting them into the freezer! As for afternoon naps......in these hot days of summer the only thing to do is sleep!
Northsider Dave, we are not as productive as we ought to be though.....but then most smallholding folk would probably say the same!
Good news on the plums, what are you going to do with them? Jam or dehydrate them?
SOL, 2 kgs going into jam and the rest being dehydrated for use as fruit in cakes. Got another bowl waiting in the fridge and these I am going to can in sugar and water. Then we have another tree full of plums waiting to be picked.....feeling very blessed at our fruit harvest this year!
I'm busy making and freezing Ratatouille. When the freezer is full I'll bottle instead. Other than that, I'm weeding where I just took out the red onions.... horrible job.
CRO MAGNON, it is a busy time of the year, that is for sure. As for weeding....I think we shall start again next year because we never really caught up with that job after those long weeks of rain we had earlier on in the season!
Sound like the plums could be past it. Ours are still green!! Take care Diane
DIANE, no the plums were still alright. They seem to ripen very well if left in the fridge for a few days. Lester picks the plums just before they are ripe, which then gives me time to put them in the queue for processing.
Busy, busy, busy. Glad your plums are OK and you're making jam with them, one of my favourite flavours. I know what you mean about going to the city, I always dread it, much prefer peace and quiet.
KERRY, the experience of going into city environments seems to get worse the longer we live in the quiet of the countryside, doesn't it! Plum jam is also our favourite, with figs being the next.
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